Conviction
by Kalyne
Summary: Tony really should have known better than to be poking around portals during the Convergeance. Especially after New York. But maybe ending up on a strange, desolated planet wasn't so bad. At least he wasn't alone. . . . . Right?


**A/N:** Hiya!

I wrote this a while back; it was my first attempt at a frostiron bang, but then I kind of started hating it. As I read it again today, wondering if I should just toss it, I realised maybe it wasn't so bad. I'll let you spectacular readers decide. =)

Enjoy!

* * *

"Jarvis!" Tony triggered the automatic release for his suit and rolled out, only afterwards worrying about whether or not the atmosphere was safe for humans. Since he didn't die and breathing seemed to be relatively normal, he supposed it was. "J?"

No response.

Well that was several levels of shitty.

Tony looked around the planet he was on, thanking his lucky stars that it felt like nothing like the last time he had fallen through a portal. Here, he could breathe.

The planet was dead, covered with dark, jagged rocks with no sign of life or a speck of green anywhere. Tony was in a small cave, sheltered from the wind that sent dust and specks of dirt spiraling across the stone. He rigged up a way to haul his shorted suit and pulled it across the ground, wincing at the grinding sound it made as the metal scraped against stone. The land opened out before him, revealing no change to the barren desolation. Tony glanced around for the portal that had taken him here in the first place, but there was nothing to be found.

Damn his own curiosity about the Convergence. Because of course it was a good idea to take his suit and try to get as close to one of the random portals as he could in an attempt to get some readings off of it. If he were being honest with himself, that wasn't even the main reason he'd done it. He'd done it to prove to himself, and Pepper and Rhodey, that he wasn't afraid anymore. That he was fine. After all, if he could handle flying next to and around another wormhole in space, then surely he was recovered from whatever stupid PTSD shit he'd had.

"Stark men are made of iron."

Real men didn't go to a therapist; they worked through their problems and faced their fears. And, anyway, Tony Stark didn't need any help to deal with his issues. He'd done just fine on his own. Always had. Afghanistan. Paladium poisoning. New York. Having the damn arc reactor removed. He did it all himself (although, really, the last one had mostly been for Pepper). And he was fine.

"Just fine," he muttered to the empty landscape. "Always."

As he paused briefly, trying to get his bearings, looking for a direction that would bring him. . . somewhere, he heard a sound drift over to him on the wind. It sounded like a groan, but Tony was immediately overjoyed. Maybe he wasn't alone here. He adjusted his course accordingly and jogged off with his metal suit towards the sound.

He reached the crest of a small hill and froze at the signs of a battle. Earth stuff, like a destroyed car, corpses of some kind of strange aliens, and, lying amongst them, a flash of leather armor and pale skin that looked distinctly human. Or, considering the leather, maybe Asgardian. More wary now, Tony left his noisemaker at the top of the hill and skidded down the slope, heading towards the immobile humanoid form.

The mound of leather shifted slightly, another groan coming from the form, and Tony quickened his pace now that he knew it was the more friendly-looking fellow who was still alive.

"Hey! You okay?" He ran over to the form, and then almost immediately recoiled. Those bright green eyes, long, tangled, black hair, and chiseled jaw were unfortunately familiar. It was Loki! "What the hell? You're supposed to be in prison!"

Intense emerald eyes (though Tony could have sworn they were blue before) locked on his own and a flash of pain crossed the god's face.

And, damn it, Tony couldn't just leave him there. He took another step forward. "You look like shit, Reindeer Games." He really did. Not only was his hair a complete disaster, worse even than it had been in New York, but his skin was completely ashen colored and even the light in his bright eyes seemed to be flickering. He looked like hell, and Tony actually felt a momentary flash of pity for the bag of cats.

Loki mumbled something.

"What?" Tony got closer. "Where's Thor? Is he around? Can I get help?"

Loki shook his head slightly and said something else, ". . . consent?"

Tony frowned. "What? Consent? Consent to what?"

Loki's eyes were suddenly insanely clear as he gazed into Tony's eyes. "Will you give your consent?"

"To what?" Tony eyed him suspiciously. He was the Trickster God, and as far as he knew, this was all an illusion.

"Saving me."

Tony blinked at him warily. "Why do I need to give consent for that?"

Loki hacked suddenly, groaning again in pain. "Please," he whispered, sounding like he was on his last legs.

Tony gazed down at him for a long time. Sure, every bit of common sense was begging him to just walk away. Plus, the guy had thrown him out of a window and killed god knows how many innocent people in New York. He was a Trickster. But he was proud. A diva. Surely he wouldn't say please unless he were actually dying and in need of assistance. And Tony, well, he was quite done watching people die in front of him. "Yeah. Yeah, I give my consent."

Loki's eyes widened briefly in surprise, and Tony had all of two seconds to regret his words before Loki's hand shot out, lightning quick, and grabbed onto his wrist with a vice-like grip.

Tony tried to pull away, but then he felt darkness closing in on the edges of his vision and he couldn't even gather the energy or the air to scream. His lungs wouldn't work, just like Afghanistan, just like New York, and his last thought was wondering whether or not anyone back on Earth would even miss him.

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

When Tony woke, it was to something cold pressing insistently against his lips. He tried to move his head, to make it go away, but it was still there. He opened his mouth to protest, and then water was flowing into his lungs and he couldn't breathe, and-

Tony shot awake gasping and choking, his palms on cold stone as he hacked and fought down the bile rising in his throat.

"Pathetic mortal," a smooth voice spat from behind him, and Tony whirled to find Loki sitting cross legged on the ground a few feet away with a clay cup of water resting on the ground between them. He still looked like shit, but at least his ashen skin was beginning to regain some of its normal coloring. The light in his eyes didn't seem as strong as it had been, but rather than fluctuating, it was maintaining the same level of moderate glow.

"What the hell?" Tony growled, angry, and scared, and wondering why he wasn't dead all at the same time. "Where do you get off trying to drown me?"

Loki arched an eyebrow. "Drown you? I was attempting to hydrate you. My time on Midgard led me to believe you needed sustenance on a regular basis to survive."

"Yeah, well we usually do better when you don't shove it down our windpipe!" Then his words registered. "And why do you care if I survive anyway?"

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Well, if you'd prefer, I could simply leave you to starve to death. There are no plants, nor water, nor any living thing remaining on this planet aside from the two of us."

Tony looked around and shivered. Now that, he believed. "What is this place?"

"The Dark World," Loki said quietly, "Svartilheim is its proper name. It was once the home of the Dark Elves before my gr- before Bor came and destroyed it."

"Why'd he do that?" Tony was fascinated despite himself. Monsters and magic and dragons- it appealed to something inside of him, the child that had used to sneak fairytale books in his room among his physics textbooks in order to escape just for a few hours and pretend that maybe, somewhere, there was a world where no one had ever even heard of the name "Stark".

"A faction of them wanted to bring eternal darkness to the universe."

"A faction?" Tony echoed. "So they destroyed the whole planet?"

Loki's lips twisted in a sneer. "Such is the way of the Asgardians."

"Must have been a relief to find out you weren't one then."

Loki froze like a deer in the headlights, his eyes blazing when he lifted them to meet Tony's gaze, making the mortals swallow hard. "What do you know of my heritage?" he growled.

"Uh. . . nothing much. Thor just mentioned you were adopted." Tony froze too, really, really hoping that that was the right answer while he gave a slight shrug as though to say, "hey, no big deal".

Loki didn't relax, but he didn't snap Tony's neck either, so Tony figured that was good. "Adopted," he murmured and then scoffed. "Acquired, more like." Then he shook himself, and started to stand. "We should go." Tony didn't miss the grimace of pain that the god made as he forced himself to his feet, even though Loki tried his best to hide it.

"Go?" Tony echoed, trying to stand and then being hit by a sudden wave of nausea. "What did you do to me, anyway?" he groaned, almost falling back to the ground before a firm grip on his arm steadied him.

"I took some of your life force," Loki told him calmly. "Breathe, Stark."

Tony tried to lift his head to glare at the god, but found himself only hit by another wave of dizziness. "Fuck," he whispered, swaying. Darkness was closing in on his vision again, and his heart was starting to pound behind his chest where the arc reactor had been.

"Breathe, Stark," Loki snapped again, the grip on his arm tightening to the point of pain. It was a good pain, though, a steadying feeling that anchored him him the present. "In, out. Again."

Tony obeyed, breathing steadily along with the god's commands until his vision cleared and the nausea went away. Then he straightened, gazing oddly at Loki, who was still holding on his arm. "Uh. . . thanks," he muttered, half-heartedly trying to pull his arm away.

Loki let go of him as though his hand had been burnt by the contact and ignored Tony's confused thanks. "Do you have a suit?"

Tony immediately flinched and glared up at the god. "I'll die before I let you have it," he growled. "And it wouldn't fit you anyway."

Loki blinked, confused at first, and then rolling his eyes. "I have no need for your tin can, Stark; I have armor of my own. I was only asking because the ability of flight could make our journey much swifter. Judging by your reaction, I presume you do have one?"

Tony nodded warily. "What do you mean our journey?"

Loki smirked. "Well, I was planning on getting off this blasted realm via a secret doorway between worlds now that the Convergence has ended and the natural portals are gone. How were you going to manage it?"

Tony scowled. "I guess I'm just surprised you're inviting me. What, do you need to take another hit off my. . . life energy, or whatever?"

Loki's eyes grew guarded. "If I took any more of your life, you would die," he stated very simply.

Tony blinked. "Would it help?"

"I'm fine," Loki snapped, which wasn't really an answer.

"Yeah, no, you're not," Tony pointed out as Loki made a face that looked like he was barely withholding a scream when he took a step. Plus, there was quite clearly something wrong with his left leg. "So, I guess what I'm wondering is, if you could have stolen all my energy and maybe gotten a little bit more out of it, plus not having to put up with me, why didn't you?"

"Do you have a death wish, Stark?" Loki demanded, but he sounded more tired than angered at this point.

"Do you?"

Something flickered in Loki's eyes and then he heaved a sigh, dropping his eyes. "Enough people have died of late," Loki finally murmured, and even though Tony could only catch a glimpse of his face behind his hair, the depth of sorrow there surprised him. Then he lifted his head and glared. "But continue your pestering and I may just change my mind. I need not your consent to do it again." Loki started walking.

"Hey! Hold up!"

Loki paused, arching an eyebrow.

"I have to get my suit," Tony explained.

Loki's eyes lit. "You can fly then?"

Tony didn't really want to admit that his suit didn't work, but he didn't particularly see another way around it. "Uh. . . no. It's not working right now."

Loki didn't look like that was an opportunity; he just looked disappointed. "Ah. Why do you have to get it then?"

"I'm not leaving it behind!"

Loki blinked at him and then shrugged. "As you please."

Tony got his suit and started dragging it down to the god, who winced almost as soon as the scraping started.

"Have you no way of nullifying that infernal sound?"

"Nope," Tony panted. "Not unless you're volunteering your coat."

Tony briefly thought Loki might take his head off for even suggesting it. "No," he growled. Then he heaved a sigh. "It is completely dead? No use for at the moment?"

"We're not leaving it," Tony insisted stubbornly despite suddenly having a sinking feeling in his gut that Loki was just going to decide he wasn't worth it and leave them both behind.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I understand that, thank you, now would you answer the question?"

Tony blinked down at the suit, back up at the god. "No. It doesn't have a use at the moment." And god that hurt to say.

Loki did a thing with his hand, and the suit vanished.

Tony yelped. "Give it back! What the hell did you just do to it?"

"I put it in the Netherspace," Loki panted, suddenly looking exhausted, "where I keep my weapons."

Right. Weapons. Tony glared. "You better give it back when we get back to Earth."

"I have no need for your armor, Stark, I told you- I have my own."

"Mine's way cooler."

Instead of growing offended or scoffing, Loki actually laughed. It was a short, tired sound, but the smile that followed was surprisingly warm. "Let's go, Stark," he murmured.

Tony gazed after him in shock for a long moment. Was this seriously the same Loki? He seemed like a completely different person from the one who had come through the portal in New York. Not that Tony trusted him, not at all, but he didn't have a whole lot of other options, and, anyway, Loki clearly didn't want him dead, for whatever reason.

With one last frown tossed at the god's back, Tony started off after him. He would learn what he could, and for the moment they would cooperate to get off this rock alive. As soon as they got back, they'd go back to being enemies again. That was it.

. . . . Loki has a nice smile.

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

"Hey, Loki?"

The god didn't pause in his stride, but he did throw a glance back at the mechanic, so he figured that meant it was okay to proceed.

"How did you get that water earlier?"

"Magic," Loki responded simply, and even though he kept his voice terse, Tony could read the strain in that one word. He was really not well.

"Maybe we should take a break," he suddenly suggested out of the blue.

Loki frowned back at him, arching an eyebrow. "Is your stamina really so low?"

Tony bit back the automatic retort about how Loki looked like he was going to fall over. He was trying to get Loki to sit down, not goad him into killing himself. He chose not to analyze why he was trying to save Loki from his own stubborn pride. Instead, he waggled his eyebrows. "I'll have you know I have great stamina, and if you won't take my word for it, I could always arrange a demonstration."

Loki snorted, but the comment got him a small smile too. He didn't stop though.

"Come on, Lokes. We're both wiped. Maybe if we sleep today, we'll feel more up to it tomorrow." Honestly, Tony was a little worried that if Loki sat down he wouldn't be able to get back up, but he had to say something to get the stubborn god to cooperate.

Loki narrowed his eyes momentarily before smirking. "I'm perfectly capable of being up for it right now, but if you need the rest, by all means."

Tony grinned as he plopped down on the ground. "Why, Prince Loki! What a scandalous thing to imply!"

Loki grinned right back as he sat with considerably more care, not quite able to hide the wince as he folded himself into a cross legged position, his back perfectly straight. "Whatever do you mean, Stark?" he asked with an innocent expression that Tony didn't buy for a second.

Tony laughed. "It's nice to know that not all Asgardians are as thick as Thor."

Something dark flashed in Loki's eyes. "I'm not Asgardian," he muttered.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Whatever; if it looks like a duck, talks like a duck, and was raised like a duck."

Loki's gaze narrowed. "I am not Asgardian," he repeated, stronger, basically daring Tony to object.

Tony gazed at him intently for a moment and then promptly changed the subject. "So, why did you need my consent to do whatever the hell you did earlier?"

Loki heaved a sigh, but he seemed more willing to talk about magic. "Life force is sacred, and all living things are provided with ways to protect it by the Norns, even lesser beings."

"Oh, thanks," Tony rolled his eyes.

Loki ignored him. "I normally have the power to take what I want regardless, but. . . circumstances being what they were, I required your permission to disable the defenses."

"What happened to you anyway?"

Loki heaved a deep sigh. "It's a long story for another time."

Tony shrugged. "Fine. Well, what about your leg?"

Loki arched an eyebrow and frowned down at his limbs. "What about them?"

Tony gestured to the left one. "That one needs to be set."

Loki actually looked surprised and then his eyes grew weary. "It would have to be broken again."

Tony frowned. "What?"

"It was broken quite some time ago and not set. With the accelerated healing of my race and my magic, it healed. . . wrong. It would have to be broken once again, set, and then heal. I have not the leverage needed to break it without my magic."

"Yeah, what's with your magic anyway? Why can't you just teleport away?"

"It is depleted," Loki murmured, sounding about as reluctant to admit that as Tony had been to admit that his suit wasn't working.

"Well. . . can I break your leg?" What an odd thing to ask.

Loki looked at him oddly. "Why would you bother? I can walk faster, if that is-"

"Whoa, that's not at all what I meant. Anyway, you're the one who knows where the exit to this damn planet is anyway. I think I'll walk as fast or as slow as you want me to." Whoops. Probably shouldn't have admitted that Loki had all the power here. But the idea that he was only offering to help because of something he could get out of it irked him. "It just looks painful, and I was wondering if I could help."

"Why would you not want me in pain?" Loki snapped. "I brought ruin upon your planet."

Oh. Right. "Did you?" Tony asked pointedly. "Because you really aren't acting like a bag of cats recently."

Loki's face did several funny things, flipping between shock, relief, fear, anger, and then nothing in quick succession. "What are you suggesting, Stark?" he asked coldly.

But as far as Tony was concerned, that cat was already out of the bag. "It wasn't really you, was it? Or there were extenuating circumstances? Or something?"

"Why does that prospect seem to please you?" Loki whispered. "Would it not simply be easier to see me as the villain?"

Wow. That was just screwed up. "Nope," Tony said clearly. "I actually kind of like you when you're not throwing me out windows and killing innocent people."

Loki just stared at him. "If you apply the proper pressure, you could break it," he suddenly stated.

It took Tony a second to realise that the god had switched gears. "Would you show me?" Tony was fully aware of what he was asking- for a weakness. But he'd already shown his own hand, hadn't he? Maybe that was enough.

It seemed perhaps it was. Loki showed him where to put his hands, and then told him to push.

Tony obeyed nervously, but nothing happened. He pulled back and shrugged at Loki, who rolled his eyes.

"With force, Stark; stop holding back."

Tony sighed, and pushed against the god's leg again, feeling all the strong muscle hidden beneath broken pale skin.

Suddenly there was a snap.

Loki hissed in sharply through gritted teeth and then set it himself. He didn't make a sound the whole time, though he looked really pale when they were through.

"That's. . . gonna help, right?" Tony asked, fighting down bile. That had not been fun.

"Yes," Loki whispered, sounding really broken right at that moment. "Thank you." Then he laid down with his back to Tony.

Tony stared at him for a moment longer and had to resist the strange urge to brush Loki's hair back from his face. He laid down as well, drifting off into sleep.

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

Tony woke up gasping for breath. There was water in his lungs, and he couldn't breathe, and he had to keep that damn battery out of the water or he was dead, and people were dying in great balls of fire, and it was all his fault.

"Breathe, Stark," Loki murmured, his voice incredibly close to his ear. There was suddenly a steadying hand on his back, and then a cool grip surrounded his wrist and put it on something leather so that he could feel Loki's chest rise and fall with each breath the god took.

Tony breathed with him, following the sound of Loki's voice, the feeling of his hands, until he managed to open his eyes. The god was directly in front of him, his own eyes closed as he breathed measurely for Tony's benefit. Loki's hand was holding Tony's own against his chest, and his other hand was on his shoulder, anchoring him, steadying him.

Green eyes flickered open to meet Tony's brown ones, but the god didn't immediately move away. "What happened to you, Stark?" he murmured, voice quiet and surprisingly not pushy.

Tony winced and angled his head away, looking down at the stone ground.

Like that action was some form of trigger, Loki let go of him and stepped away, giving him some space.

"I suppose you deserve to know," Tony huffed, "what with how helpful you're being and all." He sat down, and vaguely noticed that Loki was too, the motions much less pained now that his leg was properly healed. "I used to design weapons," he began, starting the story haltingly. Once the words started, though, they almost seemed to flow out of him, like they had a mind of their own, and soon he had told Loki everything about the creation of Iron Man.

"I understand now," Loki stated after a moment of silence. When Tony arched an eyebrow, he continued, "Why you wouldn't abandon your suit. It truly is a part of you."

Tony blinked at him, mouth opening and then closing again. Just like that. Just like that, Loki had accepted something that Tony had been trying to tell people for years. Not even Pepper had understood. In fact, he had tried so damn hard to let go of the suit for her. Because that was what she wanted from him. He gaped at Loki. "You. . . understand?" he echoed, stunned.

Loki didn't seem to understand the gravity of what he'd just said, and he blinked. "Not completely, of course," he was quick to assure, "but in some ways your suit is a part of you in the same way my magic is a part of me. They can be separated from us, but neither are whole without the other."

Tony gaped some more before he managed to find his voice. "Uh. . ." he cleared his throat, "your magic can be separated from you?"

Loki suddenly looked wary. "To an extent," he said simply, and he didn't seem real keen on expounding any further.

Tony didn't press it. "Right. Hey, will you tell me how you ended up here half-dead now?" Not the most tactful way of putting it, but he had just remembered.

Loki gave him a rather flat stare before sighing. "Fine, but we need to get moving." He conjured up a full waterskin with a slight wince, handing it over to Tony. "Here. I will try to conserve my strength to make food for you later."

"You're really wiped, huh?" Tony questioned as he took a long daught.

"Almost dying does that to a person," Loki responded rather wryly and then hesitated. "I never properly thanked you for that, by the way," he said while his back was turned to Tony.

Tony blinked, surprised. "You're welcome."

There was a beat.

"So, uh, shall we?" Tony tried.

Loki gave a slight start. "Aye," he agreed and they started walking.

After a few moments of silence, Tony prodded. "So, here? Injured? Pieces of cars scattered around along with dead aliens?"

Loki sighed and began his tale. "After I was apprehended on Midgard, Thor returned me to Asgard to stand trial for my crimes. Odin imprisoned me in the vault below Asgard." He didn't sound bitter, just factual. In fact, the only time his voice grew emotional during the story was very briefly in the middle when he said, "Thor came to get me." It was such a simple thing to say, but there was clearly something he was leaving out. Or maybe the very fact that Thor came to get him was something shocking. Regardless, he finished his story quickly and concisely within a few minutes.

"Wait, so Thor is off fighting these Dark Elves right now?" Tony exclaimed, stunned.

"Possibly. Seeing as the Convergence has now ended and we are all still alive, however, I would say that he has likely won."

Tony felt like he should say something in response to that, but nothing was coming to him, so instead he just shrugged. "How far is this portal, gateway, Bridge to Terabithia thing anyway?

Loki ignored the reference. "I'm not certain how you mortals measure distance. It will have to suffice to say that it is far."

Tony sighed. "Fantastic." They walked in silence for a few more moments. "Well, I need something to occupy my time. How come you tried to take over my planet?"

Loki faltered mid-step, but he recovered quickly. "A throne was my birthright," he said so flatly he might as well have been reading it off a menu.

"Uh-huh. Coulsen was right; you really do lack any kind of conviction."

Loki paused. "I killed him." Once again, his voice was utterly inflectionless.

"Yeah," Tony agreed somberly. "Why'd you do that?"

The answer came immediately this time. "He was a threat to the plans of my-" Loki cut off harshly, briefly squeezing his eyes shut. His breathing was a bit heavier as well.

Tony eyed him warily. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Loki muttered, picking up his pace.

Tony had to rush to catch up; damn his ridiculously long legs! "Hey, come on! Talk to me. If you're not to blame, then-"

"Of course I'm to blame!" Loki snapped, turning around abruptly and staring down at Tony with rage and guilt flashing in his green eyes. "I killed your friend. I gave the order to rain down hell upon your planet. I built the portal. I agreed to serve him. I tried to kill Thor. I commited genocide. I let go of the bloody staff. I chose to fall!" Loki stopped, panting as he glared down at Tony, but all the mechanic could see was broken shards of something that had once been a whole.

Not entirely sure what had possessed him, Tony stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the god. He didn't say it wasn't his fault; that was what Pepper always tried to tell him, and Happy, and Rhodey. It wasn't his fault he'd been used by Obadiah. The soldiers who died in Afghanistan trying to protect him shouldn't be on his conscience. The innocents his weapons had killed weren't slain by his own hands. The people he had killed- they were bad guys, so they didn't count.

No, he knew that those words never helped. Instead, he just laid there with his head upon the god's armor, holding him, steadying him, anchoring him, like Loki had done for him twice now.

For a moment, Loki just stood there, stiff and unmoving, before slowly his arms wrapped around Tony and his knees seemed to give out. He collapsed on the stone ground, and Tony fell with him, running his hands through the god's long black hair.

"It's my fault," Loki whispered. "She died, and it's my fault."

Tony frowned down at him. Girlfriend? Thor had never mentioned a girl, but Tony was beginning to wonder if, for all his war stories, Thor had never really known his brother at all. After all, Tony had figured out that Loki hadn't really been trying to take over earth after five minutes with the real thing. Thor had spent a lifetime with him, and yet he had bought the act.

"Who died?" he whispered softly.

"My mother," came Loki's heart wrenching response. "There was a fiend in the dungeons. I told it which way to go. It found her, and she. . . she died protecting Thor's blasted mortal." The anger wasn't real and it faded in a moment. "I never meant for her to die," he sobbed.

Oh. Tony didn't know what to say, so he just held the god tighter, closing his eyes and burying his nose in Loki's soft hair.

Eventually, Loki pulled away slightly, his eyes downcast. "Why?" he whispered softly. When Tony didn't respond, he looked up, bright emerald eyes searching Tony's own. "Why do you try to comfort me? We're enemies."

Tony's lips twitched slightly. "Are we? Were we ever really?"

Loki looked down. "I don't know," was his somewhat confusing response. "But that does not answer my question."

Tony shrugged slightly. "I guess. . . I can relate. I did some shitty stuff too, you know. I was used by someone I trusted, and people died because of it. I'm still pretty damn far from a good role model, but. . . I'm trying. And, in the end, maybe that's all we can do. We try."

"It'll never be enough," Loki said softly.

"To balance the scales? No, maybe not. But we can't save the people we already killed. The most we can do is save the ones who haven't been killed yet."

Loki seemed to consider that for a moment and then smirked. "Well, I suppose if I have to start somewhere, you weren't the worst possible option."

Tony laughed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Reindeer Games. I saved you."

"Yes," Loki agreed softly, an odd note in his voice, "you did."

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

"So what was his name?" Tony asked. They had spent the last few days mostly talking about periphery things while they walked, avoiding the more personal subjects. They talked about Tony's suit designs, about the fundamental basics of magic and how they related to physics. Within a few hours of conversation, both had established a rather spectacular base of the subjects with which they were unfamiliar. Tony was already planning how to make his suits anti-magic so that he could better combat Doom, and Loki seemed very fascinated both with physics and world politics.

It occurred to the inventor, of course, that Loki could be gathering information so as to mount another attack, but he found it incredibly unlikely. When Loki wasn't insane, Tony found that he had quite a bit in common with the god, among which was a desire for freedom. Just as Tony hadn't wanted to be locked down with the responsibility of running a company, neither did Loki wish to be saddled with the burden of running a kingdom. He would have made an excellent king, Tony was certain, but he didn't want it.

But, after two days of chatting about their respective planets, explaining various movie references, and just bantering back and forth, as Loki had a rapier wit and mind that could easily rival the engineer's, Tony was ready to broach the more personal subjects again. Especially since, in the back of his mind, he was timidly formulating a plan for when they got back to earth.

"Whose name?" Loki asked warily, the tone of voice telling Tony that he had already guessed where the conversation would lead. He looked so much better now, Tony noted absently, tracing the lines of his jaw with his eyes, and noting the bright light of his emerald gaze.

"The scary dude who made you attack earth."

For a moment, Loki's jaw clenched, and Tony thought he might start an arguement, but then he just sighed. "He did not make me. I chose." There was a pause. "His name was Thanos."

"Okay," Tony said slowly, dragging the word out, "and who's that?"

"Suitor of Death," Loki commented softly, "the Mad Titan. He wishes to accumulate ancient artifacts and use them to bring all the realms to heel. Then he will orchestrate the destruction of worlds and the sacrifice of billions of lives to Death in an attempt to win her love."

Tony was silent for several moments. "Wow. That's. . . uh. . . insane." He paused. "Is Death actually a person?"

"Yes." Loki responded very simply.

"A female person?"

Loki gave a slight shrug. "She is. . . fluid, but, yes, she generally identifies as female."

"Huh. And these old artifacts?"

"Infinity Gems. The Tesseract is one. The Aether that I described, which Thor has no doubt reclaimed, is another."

"I'm gonna need a more detailed explanation at some point."

"At some point, I will give it."

For some reason, Loki's assumption that they would still be around one another at some point in the future, even if only in a day or so, made Tony smile. "Okay. How did you end up with Atlas then?"

Loki hesitated. "Has Thor told you of the Bifrost?"

"Some."

"The Rainbow Bridge that extends to it hangs over the Void on the edge of Asgard, and I. . . fell from it."

I chose to fall, Loki's previously stated words echoed in Tony's mind, and the inventor frowned. "Why?"

"Is not throwing yourself off a tall object a fairly normal method of suicide?" Loki snapped in return.

Tony jerked, stunned. "But. . . why?" Why would the smart, sassy, clever, arrogant god in front of him ever want to kill himself? He was a prince. He was brilliant. He was really hot. He was. . . adopted. Shit.

"I discovered that my entire life was a lie," Loki said coldly, "and when I attempted to. . . affirm my loyalty to Asgard, through admittedly flawed means, my efforts were for naught. In the aftermath, I was hanging from the edge of the Rainbow Bridge, and I saw no reason to continue living. So I let go. Little did I know that falling into the Void doesn't have to be a death sentence."

When Loki was silent for several long moments, Tony prodded. "So you ended up in Trogdor's hands?"

"Yes."

Not all the information for which Tony was hoping. "And?"

Loki heaved a sigh. "Thanos pulled me from the Void. After endless eternities of falling through the infinite madness of space- something you experienced briefly, I think, when you went through the Tesseract portal- there was a force that changed the angle of my fall. I landed on a barren rock populated by his servants, the Chitauri. My mind was scrambled, my bones were broken, and they were. . . curious."

Tony got a sick feeling in his gut, but it seemed now that Loki had started he had no intention of stopping.

"They pulled me apart in a million different ways, delved into my mind and into my body both, ripped me into pieces again and again, put me back together again so that they could start all over again." The detached voice he had been using failed, and he stopped walking, eyes slipping shut as his voice took on a tormented tone. "Again and again and again they did this, until I lost all sense of who I was and what I was meant to be. My already scrambled mind was clouded by endless, constant pain. Then, their leader came to visit.

"They called him the Other, and he ripped into my mind in a brand new way. He filled it with images of his master, of Thanos. Of my master. They destroyed everything I had ever believed and built the opposite of it in my mind. Then they sent me to conquer the earth."

Tony stepped in front of him carefully. "Loki?"

He didn't seem to hear. "Slowly, ever so slowly, my mind started coming back. I changed the plan at the last minute. I didn't even know why, but I let Selvig build a backdoor into the portal. I chose to only open one portal. I antagonised you all and let you all live. I did this for no other reason than simply not to win. I couldn't let him win. My punishment in Asgard's dungeons before the sentencing gave me the time I needed to piece together portions of my mind, but I am not. . . whole. He is still there."

Tony touched Loki's shoulder, but the god didn't jerk away, he just kind of pitched forward, into Tony's arms, and soon they were on the ground again. Normally, Tony might have wondered at Loki's telling him everything like this, but he understood the feeling of needing to get it all out once you started. "You're stronger than him," Tony told him something of which he was sure. "You'll get rid of him."

Loki didn't respond, just laid his head on Tony's shoulder for several long moments of silence. "Why?" he asked softly. "Why do you. . . . Why are you kind to me?" He sounded so utterly baffled.

"I like you, Lokes," Tony told him, not really sure what else to say. Then the words came. "You're my friend. I think you're smart, clever, witty, and you get this glint in your eyes when you talk about chaos and mischief. You don't judge me for what I've done, or try to shut me up, or just plain ignore me. You've helped me through panic attacks and never called me weak. Well, except when you're being your normal absurdly egotistic godly self, but I've never really taken that personally. And you-"

Tony wasn't really sure how it happened. One moment they were both sitting on the ground, wrapped up in one another, Tony rambling on about nonsense because he needed Loki to understand that Tony actually cared, and then suddenly cool, soft, lips were pressing against his own in a fierce action that shocked him to the core.

For a moment, Tony froze completely, his mind totally shutting down and his body too stunned to react properly. Loki started pulling away, green eyes wary and apologetic. Then Tony grabbed his hair and yanked him up for another, bruising kiss.

The action clearly caught the god off-guard, but he recovered a lot faster than Tony had. It didn't take the inventor very long to realise that Loki, for all his broken, hurt aspects, was definitely not a submissive. The god very expertly stole control of the kiss, licking into Tony's mouth and tugging on his hair until Tony was forced to pull back for breath with a moan.

Loki slipped down from his mouth and kissed his neck, sucking a mark into the skin there. Then he bit down, hard, and Tony's hips gave an involuntary jerk forward, trying to get friction for his rapidly hardening member.

The god grinned devilishly, long deft fingers working at Tony's belt. Tony was instantly grateful that he had been wearing normal clothes under his armor rather than his undersuit since that thing was almost impossible to remove. Loki slipped his pants down to his knees and then swallowed him down with ease.

Tony groaned, fisting his hand in Loki's raven hair and barely keeping himself from bucking forward into that heavenly mouth. Loki's hands were on his hips, then, holding him in place, and Tony had little other choice than to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Loki didn't waste any time. He moved up and down the shaft, curling his tongue around it and hollowing his cheeks, applying suction every time he pulled away. Each time he swallowed it down, he got closer and closer to deep throating him until finally his nose was pressed up against Tony. He swallowed them, his throat constricting around Tony's member, and the inventor didn't have the air to scream.

"Oh, fuck- Lokes, you- god- fucking amazing." Nonsense spilled from Tony's lips as he fought with his own body. It had been a while now, as he hadn't bounced back to his old habits since Pepper had decided they needed to take a break. Even though he knew that she'd been looking into a couple other guys, he hadn't been able to follow suit. At least, not until he got himself stranded on a deserted planet with the insufferably hot god between his legs.

"Lokes, if you don't stop, I'm gonna come," Tony breathed, "and I really didn't want this to be over this fast."

Loki grinned, pulling off with an obscene pop. "Oh? What did you have in mind?" His voice was pure lasciviousness.

Tony suddenly fought an urge to grab the god's hair and force him back down on his dick,despite the fact that he had basically just asked him to stop. That, combined with staring at Loki's swollen pink lips, completely derailed his thought process. "I. . . uh. . . fuck me?" he managed.

Loki chuckled softly, leaning over him for a hungry kiss, his hand wrapping around Tony's leaking cock. "Not today," he whispered against Tony's lips as he pulled back with a wink. Then he slid back down Tony's body like a snake, and before Tony could even think to complain, Loki had taken him down again.

God, if he'd thought it had been impressive before. . . . Tony groaned, his hands in Loki's hair pulling harsher than he really meant, but the god just moaned around the dick in his mouth, and the vibrations almost tipped Tony off the edge. "Loki, god, you look so fucking hot with my dick in your mouth like that," Tony whispered, trying to soften the grip of his hands as he ran them through his hair.

Loki actually pushed up into the grip though, and started glaring at Tony when he stopped moving them, so Tony went back to the too-hard gripping after a moment. Loki moaned again, and then took him all the way down, swallowing around him. He pulled back up, applying suction, and then there was the barest, lightest scrape of teeth against the underside of his cock.

Tony bucked and spilled without even enough time to warn the god, who accepted the treatment rather docilely, swallowing it all down until Tony was finished and then carefully pulling away, licking his lips and then smirking.

The mechanic let his head thump back against the stone with a satisfied sigh. "Wow. That was. . . . Wow."

Loki chuckled softly. "You're not too bad yourself, Stark," he responded before leaning in for a deep kiss.

Tony could taste himself on the god's tongue, and damn if that wasn't unbelievably hot. Since Loki had basically sucked out his brain through his dick, it took Tony a moment to remember that he was the only one there who had gotten off as of yet. "Oh," he exclaimed, pulling away from the kiss. His hands went for the god's pants. . . only to find buckles and laces and all sorts of things he couldn't even begin to name. "Uh. . . I'd really love to reciprocate, but as hot as your armor is, there are some circumstances where it's kind of a hindrance."

Loki laughed quietly. "Can't even figure out how to remove the leather?" he teased. "And here I thought you were supposed to be a genius."

"Hey! I am a genius. I just don't have much practice with this is all. But, hey, if you're willing to wait an hour or two, I'm more than willing to take the time to do it properly."

Loki snorted, batting Tony's hands away. "I think not, mortal." But before he could do whatever it was he had been planning, a sudden howl split through the air and both of them froze.

Tony's eyes went wide, and his next words were a whisper. "I thought we were the only living things on this planet."

"So did I," Loki responded, sharp eyes searching the landscape while Tony fixed his pants and got to his feet. "We should go," the god said softly, rising from his crouched position. Then he tossed Tony a smirk. "You'll just have to owe me."

Tony grinned right back. "I think I can live with that."

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

"This is it," Loki proclaimed wearily. He had pushed both of them hard these last miles since they had heard the sound. Nothing more had happened, and Tony had suggested at one point that maybe it had just been the wind whistling through a natural rock formation of some kind. Loki had agreed that it was possible, but neither really believed it if their sudden rush was any indication.

But now they had arrived. Or, at least, Loki said they had.

Tony stared at the rock wall in front of them and the small cleft in it at which Loki seemed to be looking. "You've got to be kidding me."

Loki chuckled. "That portal will take us to the Void between worlds, where, with our thoughts, we will be able to direct it to Midgard."

Tony recoiled. "What? The Void? No thank you."

"We will be in it for less than a second," Loki told him patiently.

"I don't care, I'm not-" Tony stopped. He turned and looked closely at Loki, noting the tight clench of his jaw, the strain in his tensed muscles. He didn't want to do this either. Tony turned back to the rock and swallowed hard. "Okay. What do I think about?"

Loki looked relieved. "Anywhere on Midgard should suffice. Once we are anywhere on the planet, I have enough magic to get you where you would wish to go."

"What about you? What're you gonna do when we get there?"

Loki shrugged. "I'll make do."

"Uh. . . maybe. . . if you got me to my tower. . . you could stick around. Until you have enough magic to get where you want to go, I mean."

Loki arched an eyebrow. "And how do you think your Avengers would take that news?"

Tony shrugged. "We wouldn't have to tell them. Or you could tell them the truth- that it wasn't your fau-" He stopped at the look on Loki's face. "I mean, that it wasn't your idea."

"I'm a fugitive from Asgard," Loki reminded him, "and Thor thinks I'm dead, a misconception I don't intend to correct."

"Okay, so we wouldn't tell them." Then Tony frowned. "Hey, how come Thor didn't notice that your eyes were a different color?"

Loki shrugged. "He may have assumed I was making use of my shifting abilities for some unknown purpose, or he may have simply not noticed."

"I noticed in less than five minutes that you weren't the same person who had thrown me out of a window," Tony pretended to ignore his wince here, "so how come he didn't?"

Loki looked out into the sky. "Every good hero needs a villain, Tony, and he was always more than content to let me be his. I'll admit that I probably helped it along in some ways, but Thor has no need to see me as anything other than evil."

"He defended you though."

"Did he? Or did he defend Asgard's and his family's honor?" Loki held up a hand to forestall further debates. "I know you'd like to believe that he still has faith in me, but I have known Thor for much longer. Perhaps he will prove me wrong in the future, but for now, let us simply move past this."

Tony sighed. "Fine. But will you stay? For a while? I mean, I do owe you a pretty spectacular orgasm, after all."

Loki smiled faintly. "I think that perhaps that could be managed." Then he held out his hand.

Tony looked between it and Loki's face for a moment and then clasped the chilly, pale hand in his own. "There's no place like home," he muttered, ignoring the quizzical look Loki sent in his direction. Think about home. . . Stark Tower. . . Pepper. . . the Avengers. . . Earth.

Another howl split through the air suddenly, and something black launched at them from out of the dark. Teeth snapped right by Tony's face, and then Loki cried out in pain. Blood splattered across the reddish stone, and a vicious snarl resounded through the inventor's ears. Loki's hand tightened on his own, and then the god pulled him through the crack in the rock wall, through the natural bridge between worlds, and Tony caught a fleeting glimpse of flashing white teeth and rippling black fur before the Dark World simply spiraled away from him.

(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)

There was darkness, thick, tangible darkness, all around. He couldn't see anything, couldn't even feel his own body.

"Loki!" he tried to call out, but no sound would come. Did he even have a body? Was this what being dead felt like?

Something moved past him in the dark, and Tony somehow felt cold even without a body. Horrid, rancid, icy breath suddenly washed down in his face, and awareness of his body suddenly slammed into Tony like he'd just gotten hit by a semi. He was falling through endless space, he couldn't breathe, he was freezing cold, but somehow he was still alive even as he fell endlessly.

"Loki!" he tried screaming again, but, again, nothing. Possibly because he was in space. But he if were really in space, he would be dead. Right?

Something brushed against his back and arm, something scaly and slimy. Tony jerked away from it, fear shooting through him like a lightning bolt. Where was Loki? They had been holding hands, presumably so that this didn't happen.

You have an attachment to the little god? a soft female voice whispered in his mind, and Tony recoiled.

"Who's there?" he tried to say, but, again, no luck.

A soft, childish giggle echoed through his mind. I am always here, Tony Stark, she murmured. He seems to like you. I suppose you could be useful.

"Who the hell are you?" No volume, but apparently that didn't matter.

Silence, mortal! She shouted, and he tried to scream at the sudden pain shooting through his mind, even though there was no sound. He is searching for you, even now. He faces his fears for you. Hmm. I suppose I will let go. For now.

The presence left his mind, and for a moment everything was silent and cold. Then there was suddenly a jerk on his entire being, and he started falling in a different direction, spinning around in circles and screaming without voice. He was terrified, and his stomach seemed to be trying to climb out of his throat, until he suddenly slammed into something hard and solid.

Tony tried to pull away, tried to escape the iron grip that had suddenly captured his arms as he continued to fall, more gently now.

Stark! a familiar voice snapped in his mind.

Tony managed to get a hold of himself for long enough to look up and meet terrified green eyes. "Loki," he tried to choke.

Hush. It's alright, Loki whispered softly in his mind. Unlike the strange woman, this presence was soft, soothing, and it made Tony feel safe.

He wrapped his arms around the god and clung to him like he was a child. "How do we get out of here?" he spoke soundlessly.

We need to find a planet, Loki said softly. Any planet, at this point.

"Why aren't we dead?"

There was an unnerving pause. I don't know.

Well that was comforting. "So how do we find a planet?"

Think of home, Stark. Let your thoughts, your emotions, your feelings guide you there.

"Why me?"

Another pause. I do not have a home, Anthony, he murmured, his voice softer.

Tony squeezed tighter around the god's torso and then tried to do as he was told. He clamped his eyes shut and tried to think of various things about home. He thought about Jarvis' kind voice, and how it felt when Pepper gave him a hug. He thought about fighting with the Avengers. He thought about his workshop, and spending time immersed in his newest thought.

There was another massive tug on his being, and Tony cried out as he was jerked again in a new direction. At least this time he wasn't alone.

"What's happening?"

It's working, Loki explained, his mental voice strained. Your thoughts are guiding us to Midgard.

Suddenly, images and pictures were whirling by so fast that Tony could hardly see them, making him even more dizzy and nauseous. He turned his head away, and buried his face in Loki's chest, but they were still flashing behind his eyelids.

"Make it stop!" he cried out in pain.

Almost there, Loki whispered, sounding faint. And then suddenly the images stopped flashing, and one started growing clearer and growing behind his eyelids. The jerking happened again, and Tony was being pulled, this time towards the image that was seared into his mind. There was a bright light that nearly blinded him, and then suddenly they weren't falling anymore.

Tony opened his eyes, pulling away from the god slightly so that he could look around. He had to blink several times before his vision cleared, and even then, what he was seeing made no sense.

They were in an underground Shield compound, not unlike where they had held the Tesseract, and behind them was a massive structure that looked like maybe it was supposed to be a portal generator. In front of them were a whole bunch of Shield agents, and the Avengers minus Thor, most of them with guns drawn and trained on him and. . . oh, right- Loki.

Tony held up his hands, noticing for the first time that Loki's left arm was bleeding terribly, and he suddenly remembered the monster that had attacked them on the Dark World. He met Loki's eyes briefly, and then turned to the Shield agents, thinking he could explain it to them, even though his head was still spinning terribly and he was finding it hard to breathe.

Loki, though, he laid a hand on Tony's shoulder and turned him back to face him with a faint smile. He leaned down and whispered in Tony's ear, "Don't forget." He pulled back with a smirk, "You owe me." Then he winked, and promptly vanished, leaving Tony alone in a room full of highly suspicious Shield agents who probably all thought that he was being mind controlled.

"Asshole," Tony muttered fondly, not quite able to smother his affectionate smile.

He wouldn't forget, and this wouldn't be the last time he saw Loki. Tony Stark always paid his debts.

* * *

 **A/N:** There is more to the story, but I'm not sure if it'll ever get written. It'll probably depend on whether you awesome folks bug me about it or not. =)

Thanks for reading! Comments are my life-blood. :D


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